When form and style meet function and performance, it’s an exciting thing. It’s not often when the stars align in such a way that produce a product that not only turns heads, but provides exceptional performance. This is exactly what the Fatman iTube ValveDock MkII offers.

When the almighty transistor reigned king throughout the electronics industry, the trusty and seasoned vacuum tube (also called a “valve”) struggled to hold its place. Thanks to a brutally-devoted audience of audiophiles, the resilient tube found a niche market as an elite audio item. Unfortunately, most tube-based audiophile systems are out of reach for many due to a hefty price tag.

Enter Fatman, which has manufactured a reasonably-priced alternative that is fabulously stylish in looks and rich in performance. The Fatman iTube ValveDock MkII is designed with iPods and portable devices in mind. It comes with or without speakers. The system contains a tube-based amplifier and preamp in one unit and an iPod docking station in another unit. (The iPod Shuffle is not supported.) Each have independent power supplies. To round out the system, Fatman provides a remote that operates the preamplifier and docking station.

The system specifications initially don’t sound overly impressive, but this is a good example of how specifications alone don’t tell the entire story. Consider this: Power is 25W into each of two channels. Frequency response is a model 20Hz to 20kHz, which is nice. Harmonic distortion is .5%, which is high by today’s standards. Signal-to-noise ratio is 86dB, which is low compared to today's solid state systems.

But this isn’t your everyday system. This is a tube-based amplifier, which is an entirely different animal, and for those with sensitive ears, they will experience a much different listening experience. The tube-based soundstage is warmer than that of a conventional transistor-based amplifier. It’s like the difference between milk and heavy cream. The audio quality is richer with a denser quality low end with more depth in the midrange and high frequencies. It’s best experienced than read and this is why tubes have lasted in the audio community—they just work.

The Fatman iTube Amplifier inputs are modest and include phono jacks for Line 1 and Line 2 on the back of the amplifier. Outputs consist of left and right channel banana-plug speaker terminals and a 3.5mm headphone jack from the front of the amplifier. The docking station outputs include Video Out, S-Video Out, and Audio Out. The docking station also contains a USB connector and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that provides excellent audio reproduction from digital sources without going through the quality-limiting DACs typically used for USB audio reproduction.

For those interested in the matching speakers, they offer very good quality that is tuned specifically for use with the iTube ValveDock MkII. The mid- and high-frequency reproduction is crisp and clear and the bass is clean, but not abundant, which is to be expected given the physical size of the bass drivers.

For those interested in entering the wonderful world of tubed audio with their portable audio devices, the Fatman iTube is a decent selection with a select quantity of features.

The other option comes with speakers? Visit here for full details.

Main Features

• iTube Vacuum Tube Amplifier
• Separate Dock for Apple iPod or iPhone
• Valve processing gives warm, rich, audio characteristics
• Now with USB input

Specifications

• Source Inputs: 1 x USB input, 1 x pair RCA input
• Power Output: 25Wx2
• Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20KHz (±1.5Db)
• Distortion: ≤0.5%
• Signal-To-Noise Ratio: ≥86Db
• Input Sensitivity: 350mV
• Input Impedance: 100KΩ
• Output Impedance: 4Ω, 8Ω
• Tubes Used: 6N1 x 2, 6E2 x 1
• Power Supply: AC100~120V/50~60Hz
• Amp Dimensions (WxHxD): 260x145x130mm
• Dock Dimensions (WxHxD): 155x130x123mm
• Amp Weight: 4.3KGs
• Amp Type: Hybrid

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